


Follow my lead

by Alisha_Winchester



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, Oblivious Steve, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Stucky - Freeform, after civil war, pining Bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-05-02 04:52:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14537064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alisha_Winchester/pseuds/Alisha_Winchester
Summary: Steve Rogers has gone years without his best friend, James Barnes, by his side. Now that he has him back, it shouldn’t really be a surprise that just with the tiniest bit of persuasion, Steve would do anything for Bucky. So, when Clint let it slip that Bucky was lonely, Cap tries his hardest to find the perfect lady for his best friend. It’s too bad the only person Bucky has eyes for is Steve Rogers. Now throw in deadly missions, assassins, friends detemined to get them both together and being locked in tiny closets. Guess hiding his secret just became a whole lot harder.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Bucky stomped into the Avengers tower living room, causing all eyes to turn to him and all chatter to stop. Sighing dramatically, he dropped himself upside down onto the couch, dark hair almost brushing the floor. Everyone exchanged quizzical glances. Bucky had only been with them for a few months but they supposed having Steve there too must have made it easier for him to open up to them.

“You okay?” Bruce asked carefully. Bucky only huffed in response and crossed his arms.   
“Would you like me to make you some cocoa so you feel better, honey?” Tony cooed, sarcasm dripping from his every word. Steve sent a glare towards him as he saw his best friends pout deepen and shoulders drop.

“What’s wrong, Buck?” Steve questioned as he reached over to lightly shove Clint for mimicking Bucky’s crossed arms and huff.  
“We have no ice cream,” the pout Bucky supported deepened even further as he proceeded to roll himself off the sofa only to lie on the floor and close his eyes.

“Oh my god,” Clint groaned as he threw a pillow at the soldier. The archer had been the last one to be forced into buying ice cream for their leaders best friend. Bucky let it hit him before he grabbed it and put it under his head.

“Would you like me to go buy you some?” Steve asked, offering his hand to help Bucky onto the couch. Accepting the offer, Bucky hauled himself next to the other World War 2 soldier and shook his head.  
“Stay,” Bucky demanded, laying his head on Steve’s shoulder.  
“How are you planning on getting ice cream now?” amusement laced Cap’s words as he teased the man who was practically family at this point. A frown suddenly appeared on the Winter Soldier’s face again as he pointed to all the other Avengers in the room.

“Make one of them get it.”  
There was an outburst of disapproval from the other occupants of the room. Steve made a move to get up only to be yanked back down and Bucky’s legs to rest on top his, trapping him. Bucky made the choice to use his secret weapon. He lowered himself slightly so he was looking up at Steve and widened his eyes. Pouting his lips even more and slightly sticking out his bottom lip, Bucky latched onto the Captains arm.

“B-but I really wanted you to stay,” Bucky wrapped Steve’s arm around himself and tucked himself into his chest, nuzzling his nose into the mans neck.   
“Please?” Bucky breathed, continuing to wrap his arms around his friend and glancing up to see if his plan had worked. Steve’s pupils were blown wide and he pulled Bucky even closer.

“Er Tony? Go get Buck some ice cream,” Cap demanded distractedly.   
“What? C’mon, seriously Cap? Your boyfriend pouts and you just give in?” Tony reprimanded.   
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Steve grumbled before giving Tony a look.

Bucky’s heart dropped a little. Tears threatened to blur his vision but he pushed down his his hurt until it was a tiny ache in the back of his mind.  
Grumbling, the billionaire left the building in search of ice cream for the newest member of the Avengers. But now Bucky no longer had much of an appetite. That does not by any means mean that he pulled away from the cuddle the two soldiers had formed.


	2. Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky’s scared .

Steve loved Bucky to the ends of the earth. He would help him before Bucky even asked, make sure he took care of himself and always took extra care to show his best friend that he was cared about. 

Steve could never forget how much Bucky had helped him before he became Captain America. No one but Bucky had been there to save Steve’s ass in those back alley beat ups or run to get his inhaler during an asthma attack. This is why a little bit of joy would spread itself through Steve whenever Bucky needed help with this new generation; whether it was new technology or just adjusting to life with his own mind, Steve was there to help.  
One thing that Bucky just couldn’t understand after so many years was his irrational fears in spiders. He couldn’t even see one on the grass in the park without jumping on Steve’s shoulders, let alone one in his damn room. Which just so happened to be his predicament at this moment. 

It was on the fucking door. 

“I will shoot you,” Bucky threatened, raising his gun from behind his pillow. “I swear to god I’m not scared. I will shoot you if you don’t move.” 

The winter soldier was then hurling himself across the room as the spiders leg twitched. His gun slid to the door, slightly pushing it closed. The sudden sound caused the insect to panic and scurry along the walls towards the back of the room.  
Towards. Bucky. 

“Fuck no. Fuck. No,” his repeated chants were going unnoticed to the oblivious 8 legged creature. Bucky attempted to launch himself onto his bed but stopped short and he slowly looked up. His expression formed into one of absolute horror. On the ceiling above his bed was a tiny black dot. 

“Oh my god.” 

They were out to get him. They had be. Spiders were rallying to come after him, that was the only possibility. Bucky was so focussed on this new dot, he didn’t realise he had backed right in to the wall with the first spider on. It wasn’t until he saw movement in the corner of his eye did he look to his left only to find four pairs of legs and a small body on the wall near his face. 

A petrified scream erupted from him as he dashed away flailing his arms like mad.  
He must have killed their spider leader when he was the winter soldier - there really wasn’t any other explanation at this point. 

Buckys scream had obviously awoken Steve from his blissful dream only to topple out of bed in his hurry to reach his best friend.  
“Bucky?!” Steve called. “Are you alright?” 

“STEVE!” Bucky wailed from the next room. Steve sprinted to Buckys room, totally forgetting his shirt... and pants. Those details didn’t really seem to matter at this point. By the time Steve reached the room, Bucky was slumped in the corner with his arms wrapped around himself attempting to shield him from the horrible creatures. Steve cautiously made his way to the frail looking man and kneeled down in front of him. 

“Hey, Buck, you wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Steve coated while trailing his fingers up and down Buckys forearm in and attempt to calm him. 

“They’re everywhere. They’re going to attack me,” Bucky sniffed, not letting go of himself. Steve looked around closely not spotting any threats. “The spiders!” Bucky exclaimed at Steve’s curious gaze. 

Steve let out a sigh before smoothing out Bucky’s hair and standing back up. He turned around in search of the spiders and quickly let them out the window before returning back to his best friend. 

“They’re all gone, Buck,” Steve assured him and he pulled the shorter man closer to him. Due to the lack of clothes, Bucky fell onto Steve’s bare chest which happened to be absolutely tortuous for both of them. Bucky wanted so bad to place his hand down and unsurprisingly, Steve wanted him to do the same thing. 

Both men ended up falling asleep curled up together on the floor. Needless to say, the other occupants of the building now had new means of blackmail for the two soldiers for a couple months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked :)


	3. Clint’s Bow .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint leaves his bow in the shooting range. Bucky wants to try it.

One. Two. Three. Four. One after the other, bullets hit the target. It still, however, did not satisfy Bucky’s boredom; he didn’t need practice shooting so why the hell was he still doing this?  
Laying down his gun, Bucky glanced around. Pieces of equipment lay scattered on the training room floor. One in particular stood out - it was Clint’s bow. Bucky hesitantly picked it up and studdied it: it felt weird in his hands.  
With the memories of Katniss and Legolas in his mind, he decided it couldn’t be too hard to use. Bucky grabbed an arrow at random, made his way to the archery targets and readied himself to shoot. Or at least how he assumed he was supposed to stand. Bucky had seen the archer stand sideways so he manoeuvring around, he managed to take aim … and missed. 

“What?!” He did everything right, didn’t he? Grabbing another arrow, he took aim again. Bucky pulled back the string, staring dead on at the middle of the target. Just as he was about to let go he heard a deep chuckle from the doorway. He immediately lossed control of the dreaded device and let it fall to the floor. 

“Steve!” Bucky groaned as he turned to look at the man who had disrupted his concentration. 

“You were doing it wrong anyway,” Steve shrugged as he started moving towards him. “Here, I’ll tell you how to do it.” Steve moved to Buckys left side. Bucky bent down to pick up the bow and Steve would shamefully admit his eyes definitely lingered a little. Glancing away, Steve started giving instructions. 

“Move more sideways.”  
“Pull it more.”  
“Higher.”  
“No, lower than that.”

And this time when Bucky let go of the string… he still missed. A pout appeared on his face and his posture lost some confidence. Steve stared longer than he should have before finally speaking again - this time softer:  
“Here, let me show you.”

Steve moved closer to Bucky and put his arms around him. One hand resting over Buckys on the handle and the other leading Buckys other hand to draw back the string. Bucky could feel the heat creeping up his neck and Steve wasn’t much better. Steve had no idea where this sudden act of dominance had come from but he definitely felt the effects of it. His breathing becoming much heavier while Bucky’s hair brushed against his face. A shiver ran through Bucky whenever he felt Steve’s breath on him.  
Lowering his chin onto Buckys shoulder, Steve took aim and, barely above a whisper, muttered “3…2…1…” to indicate when to let go. Barely comprehending what was happening, Bucky released his fingers and the arrow sailed through the air. However, neither men were looking to see if it hit as they slowly turned their heads towards each other. They were so close. 

They were staring each other in the eyes. Their breath mingled and Bucky slightly raised his head, biting into his lower lip. This immediately drew Steve’s attention. His eyes slightly darkened at the sight before moving a fraction of an inch closer, their lips almost touching…

They were suddenly broken apart as the shouting upstairs increased. They pulled away from each other and Bucky awkwardly coughed before muttering about why it was so hot in the room. At Steve’s intense stare, Bucky unconsciously licked his lips, which again drew Steve’s attention. With one last longing glance at Buckys lips, Steve led the way to the sound of the commotion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky needs a little help after his first mission with the Avengers .

It had been the first time Bucky had accompanied the Avengers on a mission and according to the rest of the team- Steve was an absolute nightmare. In the few hours they’d spent travelling to the location of the alien disturbance, Steve had asked Bucky at least 50 questions regarding his wellbeing. Right now, it seems, is a perfect example: “Hey, Buck, are you sure you’re ready for this?” Steve whispered, attempting not to gain the attention of the other occupants. However, Bucky’s groan was enough to alert them. “For the last time- I’m ready, Steve,” he gritted through clenched teeth. Steve- finally sensing that his concern was becoming over bearing- looked down guiltily. This, in turn, caused Bucky to console him with a little squeeze to his arm.

The terrified expression on Steve’s face as they descending from the Quinjet made Bucky rethink ever wanting to do a mission again. Steve’s posture was tense and his eyes kept flicking over to his best friend, afraid to say something incase his concern was unwanted. Bucky made sure to keep close to him through the fight. This way they could both keep an eye on each other and be there if the other needed help.

Close to the end of the fight, the two soldiers had drifted towards each other; they were fighting back to back, able to destroy anything that came near. It wasn’t until Bucky was one-on-one against what seemed to be the leader of the group did Steve’s heart begin to beat frantically: Bucky had taken a knife to the arm. His muffled cry of pain brought Steve to his senses. The look of fury etched into Steve’s expression was enough to make the alien take a frightened step back but it was too late- Steve’s sheild making contact with his head instantly knocked him out. “Bucky?!” Steve was distraught. A cold hand on his wrist alerted him to Bucky’s presence behind him. Dropping his sheild, Steve wrapped Bucky in a bone crushing hug. They held onto each other until an awkward cough from behind them told them they were still surrounded by incapacitated aliens. If Steve held on a moment longer after Bucky let go, no one mentioned it.

The ride back to the tower was uncomfortable for the other Avengers to say the least: Steve unable to take his hands off Bucky for more than a minute was a brand new experience for them. Of course, there wasn’t any other way Steve could stitch up Bucky’s wound without helping him shed off his upper layers of clothing and Bucky had seemed so self conscious with all the scars littering his body that Steve had to do something. And the gentle touches to his arm or bump to the knee seemed to calm Bucky enough. Much to Steve’s delight, Bucky had taken to wrapping himself around Steve’s arm to try and conceal his body. Steve, taking sympathy with his best friend, had found an old jacket he had left behind once and wrapped it around Bucky. The way Bucky’s face snuggled into it warmed Steve’s heart.

Bucky, who was determined not to ask Steve for anymore help, was forced to break this little promise with himself when he found out that he couldn’t do anything one handed. This revelation had come as a real shock considering he had lived with only one arm for months at a time with Hydra. Then again, he hadn’t really been given the option to eat, change clothes or- in this case- shower. Bucky’s face had a pink tint to it when he had shuffled into the kitchen, where Steve was making dinner, wearing only a pair of pants that he was unable to unzip. He coughed to catch Steve’s attention. “I- uh- need some help,” Bucky was determined not to blush as Steve’s eyes seemed to linger before giving him a small nod. Hoping this wasn’t going to be as awkward as he imagined, Bucky led the way to the bathroom. Steve gently pushed Bucky onto the closed toilet before going to fill the tub up with warm water and lavender scented soap- Bucky’s favourite. Inhaling the sweet smell, Bucky stood up and walked up to Steve, feigning confidence. “So, my pants seem to hate me because they refuse to come off,” Bucky shrugged, hoping he seemed nonchalant. Steve’s eyes seemed to bore into him. Hands lightly skimmed his waist before reaching for the button on his pants. Bucky’s breath hitched causing Steve’s eyes to glance up at him. Steve’s hands were tense as they slowly unzipped Bucky’s pants and began to tug on them. Bucky hoped with all his heart that Steve couldn’t hear his erratic heartbeat or notice the fact that Bucky was rooted to the spot, leaving Steve to do all the work. 

_Steve is undressing me._

The thought hit him like a ton of bricks. A darkened blush began to creep up into his face. Steve was kneeling down and looking up at Bucky expectantly- giving Bucky the faint idea of what else he could be doing while while kneeling in front of him like that. Pulling his feet out of his pants, Bucky began pulling off his bandage as Steve went to turn off the water. 

“Here, let me,” Steve offered, taking Bucky’s arm gently into his hand. 

Deciding it would probably be best to keep his boxers on, Bucky stepped into the bath, releasing a relieved sigh as his muscles began to relax. Bucky’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little to see that Steve had dutifully settled himself behind Bucky outside of the bath.

”Well, you didn’t think I’d make you do it all yourself, did you?” He chuckled. Resting his large hands on Bucky’s shoulders, Steve pulled him to rest on the back of the bath. Despite the circumstances, they were both able to make idle conversation while Bucky lathered soap onto his body and rubbed away the grime. He hadn’t even tensed when Steve began to massage soap onto his back. His body felt like jello and his eyes became droopy.

A surprised whimper surprised them both when Steve seemed to find a certain spot on Bucky’s back. Smug at this new revelation, Steve began to dig his thumb into that precise spot, watching as Bucky squirmed and huffed a little breath. 

“Mhm,” Bucky hummed, content. Steve, realising he was beginning to enjoy the little noises Bucky was making a little too much, pulled his hands away. A whine escaped Bucky at this, which brought a flush onto his face. Chuckling slightly, Steve reached for the shampoo. 

Cleaning Bucky’s hair proved a difficult task: the tangles and knots tugged his head in different directions causing little whimpers to tug at Steve’s heartstrings. Removing his hands, Steve pulled Bucky closer to him, not paying much attention to the water pooling over his thighs. Changing tactics, Steve began to massage into Bucky head, turning the whimpers into little breathy groans. 

“A little to the left… no the other left… oh right there, yes,” clearly Bucky didn’t know what these words were doing to Steve because his pants were beginning to feel a little tight. Steve dipped the back of Bucky’s head into the water and began rubbing the shampoo out of his hair. Bucky’s eyes were closed. His mouth was parted. It wasn’t until Steve scratched his fingernails lightly up Bucky’s scalp did Bucky moan out Steve’s name. Steve’s hips jerked. Bucky, thankfully with his eyes still closed, didn’t notice. Bucky bit his lip. Steve wanted to bite down on Bucky’s lip too.

Steve threw caution into the wind and trailed his fingers delicately down Bucky’s face. Bucky’s breath hitched. Steve fingered the outline of Bucky’s lips, slightly pushing his thumb into his mouth. Bucky mouthed around it, flicking his tongue on the pad. Steve groaned. Bucky’s eyes flew open and he started to lift himself out of the water. Steve couldn’t take his eyes off the drops of water sliding down Bucky’s arms and back. Turning around, Bucky leaned closer to Steve. Bucky’s boxers were hanging low on his hips; he might as well have not worn them at all with the way it clung to him like a second skin. Steve could very clearly see that Bucky was rock hard. Trailing his eyes slowly upwards, Steve finally met Bucky’s half opened eyes. Steve swallowed and became acutely aware of his own hard cock confined in his jeans. Bucky’s breath was shaky as he moved forward, eyes locked on Steve’s mouth. 

A knock echoed through the room.

”Hey, Barnes, you in there? Figured I should come check if the arm was ok,” came Tony’s voice. Steve let out a frustrated groan before standing up and pulling out a towel for Bucky to cover himself with. Bucky’s voice was hoarse when he answered:

”Yeah, the arm’s fine.” 

“Thank god. I really didn’t want to see what you and Rogers were doing in there,” came Tony’s reply before he rushed out. 

Steve coughed awkwardly before stuttering something about drying himself off and rushing out. Bucky was left to think of the most morbid thing he’d ever done in the hopes that his aching cock would calm down- not feeling like his metal hand (the only one he was able to use) would be the best relief.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked :)


End file.
